Methods and systems for completing a well with fluid tight lower completion

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a methods and systems for completing a well with fluid—gas and liquid—tight lower completion and an apparatus for doing the same which includes a packer located downhole of a formation isolation well control barrier device and a formation isolation device located downhole of a sand control device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Applicationhaving Ser. No. 61/014,982, filed on Dec. 19, 2007, which isincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Hydrocarbon producing formations typically have sand commingled with thehydrocarbons to be produced. For various reasons, it is not desirable toproduce the commingled sand to the earth's surface. Thus, sand controlcompletion techniques are used to prevent the production of sand.

A commonly used sand control technique is a gravel pack. Gravel packstypically utilize a screen or the like that is lowered into the boreholeand positioned adjacent a hydrocarbon producing zone, which is to becompleted. Particulate material, collectively referred to as “gravel,”is then pumped as slurry into the borehole through a sand controlsliding sleeve extension, which is directly located downhole of the sandcontrol packer. The liquid in the slurry flows into the formation and/orthrough the openings in the screen resulting in the gravel beingdeposited in an annulus formed in the borehole between the screen andthe borehole. The gravel forms a permeable mass or “pack” between thescreen and the producing formation. The gravel pack allows flow of theproduced fluids therethrough while substantially blocking the flow ofany particulate material, e.g., sand or silt.

Once gravel packing is completed, the excess gravel and proppant (gravelslurry carrier fluid) is reversed out of the service tool andworkstring. The service tool is then withdrawn from the lowercompletion. During withdrawal, to prevent and control production and/orlosses from and/or into the formation, a formation isolation wellcontrol barrier device closes the flow path up the tubing and a sleeveslides to close off the flow path through the sand control slidingsleeve extension. Thus, the formation is isolated by the formationisolation well control barrier device inside the tubular downhole of thesand screen and by the gravel pack packer uphole of the sand screen. Inthis system, the sleeve which covers the sand control sliding sleeveextension must also hold back pressure to prevent undesired prematureproduction from the formation. However, in critical applications, suchas subsea or deepwater completions, if the sand control sleeve, which islocated between the sand control packer and the formation isolation wellcontrol barrier device, fails to establish a pressure seal, a wellcontrol issue may be introduced. Currently, to partially recover fromthis challenging situation one may either pump in LCM pills, which maydamage the formation, or pump in a huge volume of costly fluids.

There is a desire, therefore, for new systems and methods that reduce oreliminate the possibility for the sleeve covering the sand screen toleak thereby compromising the isolation of the formation.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein is an apparatus comprising a packer located downhole ofthe sand control sliding sleeve extension to create an upper annulus anda lower annulus while the formation isolation well control barrierdevice located downhole of both the sand control sliding sleeveextension and the disclosed herein packer creates a lower tubular regionand an upper tubular region.

Also disclosed herein is a method for completing a well comprisingplacing an annular isolation packer downhole from a sand control deviceto create an upper annulus and a lower annulus; and placing a formationisolation well control barrier device within a tube of the well downholefrom the sand control device to create an upper tubular region and alower tubular region.

Also disclosed herein is a system for completing a well comprising asand control sliding sleeve extension device; a sand control packeruphole of the sand control sliding sleeve extension device; a packerlocated downhole of the sand control sliding sleeve extension device tocreate an upper annulus and a lower annulus; and a formation isolationwell control barrier device located downhole of the sand control deviceto create a lower tubular region and an upper tubular region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a conventional system as describedherein.

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of embodiments of a system as disclosedand claimed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a traditional configuration of asand control and formation isolation system 100. Within the system, sandcontrol packers 10 (such as the QMAX packer available from Schlumbergerof Houston, Tex.) are set prior to performing a sand control servicesuch as gravel packing or frac packing. A service tool (not shown) maythen be run in hole through system 100 to another system furtherdownhole to perform a service on the system that is further downhole. Byway of example only, a service tool may be run downhole to perform agravel pack within a sand control sliding sleeve extension downhole ofsystem 100. An example of an acceptable service tool and method isdescribed in U.S. Published Patent Application 20080128130, incorporatedherein by reference. Other services may be performed, such as filtercake removal or fluid spotting as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,929,incorporated herein by reference.

While pulling out of hole, the service tool may be configured to closeisolation valve 50 as well as close sliding sleeve 70 (if sliding sleeve70 is open). When sliding sleeve 70 is closed, fluid 80 is preventingfrom flowing through sand screen 20. However, if sliding sleeve 70 failsto provide a proper seal, a well control issue may occur, for example,undesired production may occur. A non-limiting example of an acceptableisolation valve is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,087, incorporated hereinby reference.

In order to prevent possible well control issues, the embodiments ofFIG. 2 include an additional packer 40 located below the sand controlsliding sleeve extension to isolate the annular flow path between thecasing or open hole 30 and the sand screen 20 and sliding sleeve 70. Anytype of packers or sealing metadology such as a swellable packer or aninflatable packer or hydraulic set packer or hydrostatic set, or anyother method to close off the annulus may be used (e.g., bridge plugs,valves, sliding sleeves, baffle-plug combinations, or polished borereceptacle seals). As a result, the sand control sliding sleeve 70 maybe fully isolated and a gas-tight or oil-tight lower completion may beachieved regardless of whether the sand control sliding sleeve 70 isholding pressure.

In the description above, numerous details are set forth to provide anunderstanding of the invention. However, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced withoutthese details and that numerous variations or modifications from thedescribed embodiments may be possible.

In the specification and appended claims terms such as uphole anddownhole may be used, but, as would be known by one of ordinary skill inthe art, uphole and downhole are not limited to horizontal positions.Indeed, uphole and downhole may also describe relative positions withrespect to horizontal or otherwise non-vertical wells.

1. An apparatus comprising: a packer located downhole of a sand controlsliding sleeve extension device to create an upper annulus and a lowerannulus; and a formation isolation well control barrier device locateddownhole of both the sand control sliding sleeve extension and thepacker to create a lower tubular region and an upper tubular region. 2.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sand control sliding sleeveextension device allows fluid communication between the upper tubularregion and the upper annulus.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thesand control sliding sleeve extension device comprises an actuatablesliding sleeve to prevent fluid communication between the upper tubularregion and the upper annulus when engaged and to allow fluidcommunication between the upper tubular region and the upper annuluswhen disengaged.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the packer is aninflatable packer.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the packercomprises a swellable material.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thepacker is set by compressing an element causing the element to expandradially within the annulus.
 7. A method for completing a wellcomprising: placing an annular isolation packer downhole from a sandcontrol sliding sleeve extension device to create an upper annulus and alower annulus; and placing a formation isolation well control barrierdevice within a tube of the well downhole from both the sand controlsliding sleeve extension device and the packer to create an uppertubular region and a lower tubular region.
 8. The method of claim 7wherein the sand control sliding sleeve extension device allows fluidcommunication between the upper tubular region and the upper annulus. 9.The method of claim 7 wherein the sand control sliding sleeve extensiondevice comprises an actuatable sliding sleeve to prevent fluidcommunication between the upper tubular region and the upper annuluswhen the sliding sleeve is engaged and to allow fluid communicationbetween the upper tubular region and the upper annulus when the slidingsleeve is disengaged.
 10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the packer isan inflatable packer.
 11. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the packercomprises a swellable material.
 12. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein thepacker is set by compressing an element causing the element to expandradially within the annulus.
 13. A system for completing a wellcomprising: a sand control sliding sleeve extension device; a sandcontrol packer uphole of the sand control sliding sleeve extensiondevice; a packer located downhole of the sand control sliding sleeveextension device to create an upper annulus and a lower annulus; and aformation isolation well control barrier device located downhole of thesand control device to create a lower tubular region and an uppertubular region.
 14. The system of claim 13 wherein the formationisolation well control barrier device allows fluid communication betweenthe upper tubular region and the upper annulus.
 15. The system of claim13 wherein the sand control sliding sleeve extension device comprises anactuatable sliding sleeve to prevent fluid communication between theupper tubular region and the upper annulus when the sliding sleeve isengaged and to allow fluid communication between the upper tubularregion and the upper annulus when the sliding sleeve is disengaged. 16.The system of claim 13 wherein the packer is an inflatable packer. 17.The system of claim 13 wherein the packer comprises a swellablematerial.
 18. The system of claim 13 wherein the packer is set bycompressing an element causing the element to expand radially within theannulus.